


The Lives We Left Behind

by peachiseas



Category: Dragon Quest Series, Dragon Quest XI
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Best Friends to Enemies, Dragon Quest XI Act 2 Spoilers, Dragon Quest XI Act 3 Three Spoilers, Gen, Mostly follows canon events with a fun twist, Pre-Act 2, also all relationships are implied, backstabbing, exploration fic, ghost au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:47:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24852577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peachiseas/pseuds/peachiseas
Summary: "There was no emotion in those ice cold eyes; no rage, no sorrow. The only emotions that shined through those icy eyes, as Erdwin spoke his last words, were of pure horror and betrayal. Yet Morcant couldn't feel anything except a sickening numbness that spread through his body as he tugged with all his might and pulled his knife from his best friend's back. Nothing but numbness and the evergrowing feeling that finally, finally, he had triumphed over his so-called best friend."-------------After Mordegon had sent the world into ruin and darkness with the fall of Yggdrasil with the Luminary's own power, he had finally accomplished everything that he could ever hope and more. Yet, as he sits on his throne and watches the ensuing chaos, he realizes that something from his past life has crawled out of his closet of skeletons with a thirst for vengeance. This time, however, Mordegon cannot do anything to keep it, no, him away.A.K.A the fic where Mordegon realizes he may have fucked up.
Relationships: Erdwin (Dragon Quest XI)/Serenica (Dragon Quest XI)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	The Lives We Left Behind

**Author's Note:**

> "Lord, grace me with continuous power" -Sevdaliza 
> 
> \----------------
> 
> Hi, hi! This is my first actual fanfic on this site. I had this idea on my mind constantly while I was playing Act 2 and it really spiraled out of control when I reached Act 3! The chapters of this fic will be split in two big chunks: the present which will always come first and then the past which will hopefully shine more light on Mordegon's actions in the present along with the way certain characters act the way they do. This chapter is moreso a prelude to everything that's going to happen however so the last bit is short! I hope you enjoy!

Rage. Envy. Power. ~~Morcant~~ Mordegon knew those words all too well; envy at knowing that he couldn’t ever surpass his ~~best friend~~ archenemy Erdwin and the rage that came with that envy as he watched Erdwin become increasingly more powerful with every passing day at spells it took Mordegon weeks to master. However, that all faded away to the power he felt coursing through his veins when he absorbed Calasmos’s power, and then when he ~~robbed~~ rightfully claimed the power of the Luminary with the Sword of ~~Light~~ Shadows. It was a sight to behold as he watched the World Tree crash from the heavens into the Earth and destroying everything in its wake. And now he sat in his throne in a fortress of his own design, watching through an orb of the havoc that was unfolding on the earth below, no doubt amused as he watched countless of people—

“You look bored.”

Mordegon glanced from the orb, his expression souring as his eyes rested on the raven-haired woman standing in front of him, her expression grim but when has it ever been nothing but grim when they see each other.

“And you look like a sourpuss, but that never changes with you.” Mordegon waved at the orb, it immediately vanishing into thin smoke at his command. The woman glared at him.

“Tell me, how is the world down below? How are the people? Are they still hoping for the Luminary to come save them or do they think the world ended at His hands?” He clasped his hands together, grinning. “Or are they silent because they know their demise is coming soon enough?”

The Seer grunted and turned her fierce gaze away, to which Mordegon chuckled and he leaned back into his throne, satisfied.

“But tell me o mighty _Seer_ , what purpose do you have here? Surely, as entertaining as it would be, you have not come to pout and complain as you are helpless to save the world a second time. Though, I guess that first time didn’t work out so well.”

That made the Seer snap to attention as she glared at him through familiar purple eyes.

“No, we were supposed to save the world! We had a duty to everyone, we owed it to them to save the world from Calasmos, and yet you—you—” She stuttered over her own words in rage, maybe it would have been more intimidating if they weren’t the same person and didn’t have this conversation on a near weekly basis now.

“We, dear, we are parts of the same person after all.” Mordegon responded plainly, as he snapped his fingers and a chalice appeared with wine inside.

“Your insufferable! You destroyed all of our hard work, nay, everyone’s hard work to end Calasmos and for what? You destroyed your home, your kingdom, your friendships and now the entire world for power! What in the Goddess’s name do you want now that you have everything?”

“Hmm.” Mordegon stirred his chalice, watching the wine swirl as he ‘pondered’. “Maybe a wife. Or, I know, I’ll get a little human pet who I can torment daily as I show them the constant state of the world. Or better yet, I’ll get rid of all of the remaining hope in this world and squash it like a measly bug underneath my feet. Now wouldn’t that be _interesting_?”

“UGH!” The Seer stomped her feet, magical power powering out from her closed fists, eyes burning with fury; if Mordegon was a mere mortal maybe he would been more afraid. But Mordegon lost that title long ago when he killed his ~~friend~~ rival. A sigh left her lips as the aura around her fists dissipated and she shifted her eyes downward.

“I don’t know why I even bother coming here and talk to you. You’re a waste of my time.”

“We’re the missing piece of each other, dear. Opposite sides attract, whether we both like it or not and quite honestly if we weren’t the same person, I would have smite you by now. You are fun to get angry though, truly I can’t believe we were the same person.” Mordegon chuckled, bringing the chalice up to his lips and taking a sip of his wine.

“Erdwin wouldn’t have believed it either.”

That made Mordegon choke on his wine a bit, which he not so discreetly disguised as a grunt. He glared at the Seer indignantly, which she returned in full force.

“Excuse me?”

“Erdwin. Your best friend, your partner, the person you swore an oath of friendship and you swore to protect. Surely you didn’t forget about him.” Mordegon gripped the stem of his chalice, eyes narrowing at his other half before his hand relaxed. He glanced to the side, smirking as he tried to recall Erdwin.

“How could I forget about the stupid boy who made this all possible? Truly I should thank him for being so naïve.”

“Naivety and kindness are not synonymous of each other.” The Seer took a step forward and then another until she was directly in front of him, glaring upwards at him. “He was the only person who believed in you, no, in us. He trusted us when no one else would because he knew what we were capable of. He trusted us to keep him safe even when he knew of our lust for power. Yet he couldn’t predict how much of a monster we were, no, how much of a vile being _you_ are.”

“It was his fault for being so trusting.” Mordegon spat. “Did he really expect an old man to be his best friend full heartedly?”

“So, he was an idiot for believing in us? Had it not been for him we would have never left that temple—”

The sound of glass shattering on the ground filled the room as Mordegon stood up, blood boiling now as he scowled down at his other half.

“You know well that they would have kept us in that temple until we rotted away, Erdwin or not. They were afraid of my power, of my success, but if it was their darling Luminary, they would have kissed the feet he walked on. They didn’t care about the magical potential we had or what we could use it for! They saw us as a threat, but they saw him, someone who could have easily destroyed the temple with the sheer magical might he had, as someone _they_ should nurture and protect.” Mordegon bristled.

“They weren’t afraid of your power; they were afraid of your lust for it. They knew how unstable we were, they knew how you wouldn’t stop until it would destroy _you_ so they kept _us_ away from it for our own good. If anything, their mistake was letting you around Erdwin knowing how envious you were of him—"

“ **Enough.** ” Mordegon growled, bending down to directly look at the Seer in his eyes. “If you came here to belittle me, then it will Not work on me. Nothing you say or do will save this planet or bring back your precious Luminaries. I will wipe the world clean of the Luminary’s presence just like I did with Yggdrasil, and then this world will be completely underneath my control! Then I will find a way to separate us fully and be rid of you once for all.”

An overwhelming tense silence filled the room as two stared at each other, neither bulging. For anyone else who could have been there, it could have been overwhelming, unbearable; the air so thick with tension it was nearly unbreathable. The Seer’s familiar eyes filled with nothing but hatred, no doubt wishing she could have killed him the moment she laid on him for the first time after the incident.

“So that’s how it is then.” The Seer turned away from his gaze, scowling. “You say you want to destroy the Luminary’s presence and yet you use his power to add to your own. You think that the Luminary is a title filled with power and only that, you are truly an old fool. You destroyed Yggdrasil, murdered both the righteous Luminaries and for what? You are nothing but a hollow husk of a Luminary, the only thing you and Erdwin have in common now is the insignia on your hand. Nothing more, nothing less.”

The Seer turned back at him, to face him again with that dastardly grimace on her face again, as if she was staring at a mere husk of something, or someone. Too bad for her.

“Now I’m afraid I must be going, lest you destroy another chalice and a good cup of wine.” Mordegon growled, ready to retort but by then, she had already vanished into thin air.

Mordegon rubbed his temples, ever since Yggdrasil fell, the Seer has been a lot more tenacious in her visits, but when hasn’t she. It’s been like this for the past centuries, nay, millennium, he had lost track of time long ago. Nether less, he had to do something about her, he didn’t need her interfering with her plans to conquer the world and toss it into eternal darkness like he knew she would. He rubbed his temple as with a wave of his hand, the spill of his wine and chalice disappeared; replaced with a new chalice with fresh wine inside. For now, however, he will get rid of his headache by watching through the eyes one of his sentinels as they destroy the earth.

* * *

There was a knock on the door and then another that went unheard as Morcant sat hunched over his desk, furiously writing notes on a nearby notebook of his. He was so close, so close to transcribing another piece of history that was lost and then he could call it a night. The world needed someone to remember its’ history, in times of peace and in times of war, especially in this time where the Dark One is still at large. Though for what purpose would the Dark One even need of this world, it had already covered the world in darkness, what more could it crave—

“Morcant? Morcant, are you there?”

Ugh.

“Yes, I’m coming.”

Morcant shuffled through the path to the door, between the overwhelming stack of books that dominated his room. He knows he should have returned the books to the library but all of them were essential for his research into Yggdrasil and to an extent, the Dark One. If the Grandmaster and High Lama knew of what he was learning, Morcant was certain they would allow him to rent out the whole library. However as of right now, he was feeling the hours of exhaustion in his already aging bones and would have liked no further to go back to translating and then sleeping through the day.

“What is it boy?” Morcant asked as he swung the door open, squinting at the lantern light that his fellow monk held. He didn’t mean to sound as rude as it came off but quite frankly, Morcant was exhausted.

“The Grandmaster requested your presence; it is already the day of the Luminary’s arrival.”

“What? How could that be, it isn’t even the solstice yet. The solstice is tomorrow!”

“Morcant…it is the morning of the solstice.” The poor lad pointed to the clock, which surprisingly enough, it was 6am.

“I-If you don’t feel well, I can simply ask the Grandmaster if she will allow you to rest—” The boy stuttered as he had to shift his attention away from Morcant's burning glare.

“No! I’m fine, just—” Morcant groaned, rubbing his temples.

“I’m just a bit tired. Take me to the Grandmaster.”


End file.
